Human Rights Watch Daily Brief, 20 June 2016
Jail time for doodling in Burundi; Turkey targets activists for 'terrorism'; reversing disability stigmas; World Refugee Day; attacks on schools; Sweden's race to the bottom; sexual violence in war in the Central African Republic and Sudan; EU refugee policy & Turkey; refugees helping to nab war criminals; investigating civilians killed in Aleppo, Syria; more...
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Doodling in a school textbook can be a dangerous act in Burundi. Earlier this month, the government arrested eight students, some of them minors, for drawing and writing phrases critical of Burundi's President Pierre Nkurunziza and his decision to run for a third term. Burundi has experienced months of violence as a result of the president's decision, but arresting students for drawing in school marks a steeper slide into authoritarianism.
Turkey has jailed two journalists and an academic on spurious charges of terrorism relating to their participation in a campaign for media freedom. The three have played an important role in documenting Turkey's deteriorating human rights situation, and should be released immediately.
Around the world, people with disabilities face stigma and discrimination. Laws in dozens of countries create barriers to socialization that other people routinely enjoy. Focus should remain on rethinking the stigma of disabilities and ensuring that people living with them enjoy the same rights and dignities that we all do.
On "World Refugee Day," the news is grim...
A new asylum bill in Sweden is set to roll back some rights currently afforded to asylum seekers. The bill could be particularly dangerous to migrant children seeking protection in Sweden, as it will do more to prevent them from integrating properly into Swedish society. Rather than joining the race to the bottom, Sweden should continue being a leader in protecting the rights of refugees and asylum seekers.
As war continues to rage in the Central African Republic, women and girls remain at risk of rape and murder doing every day chores like drawing water from a well...